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French environment minister Nicolas Hulot has said that the country plans to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040, and cease coal-fired electricity generation by 2022 (Ars Technica). The latter goal is a relatively simple one, as coal contributes just 4 per cent of the country's power generation. The move to eliminate petrol and diesel vehicles, described as a "public health agenda" is a more complex proposition, but one that could be aided by the French government's part-ownership of Peugeot and Citroen parent PSA, as well as Renault, potentially prompting them to follow in Volvo's footsteps by committing to electric vehicle production. Hulot also said that he wants to reduce nuclear power to a 50 per cent share of the country's energy mix by 2025, in favour of solar, wind and other renewable energy sources, although he was not clear on how this would be achieved.

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Korean tech giant Samsung has reported a record quarterly operating profit of 14 trillion won (£9.3 billion) for the three months to June, thanks to booming memory chip sales (BBC News). The company's profits are up 72 per cent on 2016, and also show increased consumer hardware sales figures thanks to the new Galaxy S8 flagship phone, indicating that the firm's mobile division has successfully weathered the storm of the exploding Galaxy Note 7. Some researchers predict that growth in Samsung's components division could mean that the company overtakes Intel as the world's biggest-selling chipmaker this year.

The Google-funded Digital News Initiative has given €706,000 (£621,600) to the UK Press Association's Reporters and Data and Robots (RADAR) initiative for digital journalist, which will see software robots produce data-driven stories for newspapers around the UK (The Register). The award comes from a €22 million fund being distributed to data journalism projects around Europe. The Press Association says: "RADAR is intended to meet the increasing demand for consistent, fact-based insights into local communities, for the benefit of established regional media outlets, as well as the growing sector of independent publishers, hyperlocal outlets and bloggers". Press Association editor-in-chief Pete Clifton describes it as "a cost-effective way to provide incisive local stories".

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Microsoft has confirmed rumours circulating earlier this week with the announcement that the company's sales division is to undergo worldwide staff cuts, but has refused to state exactly how many positions are to go (BBC). In a statement, the company said: "Microsoft is implementing changes to better serve our customers and partners. Today, we are taking steps to notify some employees that their jobs are under consideration or that their positions will be eliminated. Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time-to-time, re-deployment in others". BBC News reports that "the majority of cuts are expected to be outside the US", noting that the company has a global staff of around 121,000 people, with 3,000 of those in the UK. The company is in the process of refocusing on cloud services as it faces off against rivals Amazon and Google.

Europeans are about to get a lot more control over their social media data (WIRED). A major change to EU data protection law will require Facebook and others to significantly change how people access and use personal information. In the midst of a data gold rush, that's a big deal. The changes will be required under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force in May 2018. The regulation sets out a series of "harmonised" data protection principles, that will be implemented into local laws for the 28 member states. The focus of the GDPR is to give greater protections to individuals as well as tougher rules on those who handle data.

Hackers are getting more and more innovative, and it's more important than ever that security professionals and business leaders understand what the latest trends and developments are to combat such threats. WIRED Security 2017 takes place in London on September 28.

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New research has found that the human body's cannabis receptors are more malleable than previously though, meaning that it should be easier to target them with synthetic compounds designed to trigger only cannabis's most desirable qualities, such as pain relief (WIRED). "People have been using cannabis for a variety of therapeutic indications for centuries," says study co-author Alexandros Makriyannis, director of Northeastern University's Center for Drug Discovery. He and his colleagues have now mapped the receptor in various states of activation and deactivation using X-ray crystallography. CB1 receptors look like a bundle of microscopic sausage links. The sausages, seven in all, are spirals of amino acids that weave in and out of a cell's membrane. And they are very flexible. When a cannabinoid goes into the receptor, the sausage links—called helices—coalesce around that receptor's binding site. The big surprise came when Makriyannis' group crystallised CB1 as it was binding to the THC-like molecules meant to switch it on. The crystallography revealed that two of the helices twisted and collapsed to fit around the molecule, shrinking the receptor to less than half its size when it received the off-switch molecule. Makriyannis says this is a big breakthrough for his work, and that he'll keep looking for new cannabinoid molecules. "We want to make compounds that will modify the receptor differently, so we can make better drugs".

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Proving that equipment limitations are no excuse for not getting the job done, Dutch astronomer and keen astrophotographer Alexander Pietrow has captured images of both our Moon and three of Jupiter's moons using the 2-bit monochrome camera released in 1998 for the Nintendo Game Boy (PetaPixel). He used a universal cell phone camera adaptor to pair the Game Boy Camera with the 1838 6-inch Fraunhofer telescope in Leiden University’s Old Observatory and waited for a suitably cloudless night. Pietrow writes of his remarkable lunar images: "The second moon series was much better, especially when looking at the border between the light and dark sides. We can clearly see craters on the Moon".

Nintendo has finally announced that its Nintendo Online service for voice chat and multiplayer matchmaking will be coming to the Switch on July 21, timed to coincide with the launch of multiplayer-friendly colour-blaster Splatoon 2 (EuroGamer). The game is getting its own SplatNet 2 matchmaking and stat tracking service as part of Nintendo Switch Online, and will play host to annual mass multiplayer SplatFest events, with the first to take place as a free demo of the game and service on July 15, between 17:00 and 21:00 BST. Once it launches, Nintendo Switch Online will be available as a free trial until 2018.

Sony has for the first time added PlayStation 4 games to its PlayStation Now game streaming service, with 51 games available to European subscribers (VG24/7). PSNow has clients for both Windows and the PS4, which means that the PS4 titles, including PlayStation exclusives such as Heavy Rain and God of War 3: Remastered, are available to play on PC for the first time. A PSNow subscription costs £12.99 a month and requires a minimum 5Mbit/s internet connection.

Blizzard has finally introduced Doomfist – real name, Akande Ogundimu – with an action-packed story trailer that, as usual, reveals a little of the character's background (Rock, Paper, Shotgun). Doomfist has been teased in animated trailers since before the game was released, and his background paints him as a former leader of the villainous Talon, originally taken down by super-intelligent gorilla hero Winston, and now escaped from prison. He's a heavy duty front-line melee fighter, and he's available to play now in the test realm.

On July 6, 2016, strangers around the world started congregating on street corners to share tips and form alliances. Hordes of people, phones outstretched in their hands, would stampede into parks, hoping to catch a glimpse of their elusive prey. Phone batteries were drained and data allowances exhausted. It was the launch of Pokémon Go.

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With five Olympic medals, Ben Ainslie is one of the world's most successful sailors. His next challenge? To win the America's Cup. In this double issue, WIRED joins him and the Land Rover BAR team in Bermuda as he prepares for the race. Plus, we go inside the UK's new unicorn Improbable, and behind the lines at Elon Musk's distribution factory. Subscribe and save now. Out in print and digital. Subscribe now and save.